Apparatus for use in treating ores.



H. J. STBHLI.

APPARATUS FOR USE IN TREATING ORES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 13, 1910.

-UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENBY JOHN ST EHLI, 0F MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO DWIGHT LLOYD METALLURGICAL COMPANY, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, A COR-POILATION OF NEW JERSEY.

APPARATUS FOR USE IN TREATING- ORES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY J. STEHLI, a citizen of the United States, residing at Montclair, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Use in Treating Ores, of which the followdischarge end of the trackway to the head or feed end 'thereoffand the invention consists of the improvements which will be hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure l is a side elevation of an apparatus embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a side view of one of the carrying elements of the apparatus, herein designated as a pallet, parts of one of its side walls being broken away, and some of the adjacent parts of the apparatus being illustrated. Fig. 3 is a cross sectional View, taken on the line III III of Fig. 2.

The material to be treated, which for the purposes of describing this invention will be considered to be a sulfid of ore, is delivered in a loose condition ,from a hopper or stor age bin 2-to the conveyor which consists essentially of a series of pallets or comparatively small individual carriers 3, each independent of the other, so far as their being connected together is concerned, although under certain conditions of operation a series of such pallets arranged end to end as indicated at a in Fig. 1, cooperate to constitute a substantially continuous carrier of a length determined by the use to which the conveyer is being put and by the supports constituting the trackway on which the pallets travel. -These pallets are open box-like structures having side walls 4, the lower edges of-which are planed smooth so as to fit accurately the upper edges of the tracks 7, or the edges of wearing strips 8 supported Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. May 21 1912.

Application filed May 13, 1910. Serial No. 561,116.

upon the tracks, in order to form practically airtight joints therewith. The edges of the ends of the side walls of the pallets are also shaped to fit each other closely, and practically air-tight, when the pallets are arranged close together in end to end series. Each pallet carries a perforated grate 6 that constitutes the supporting plate upon which the ore or other material being treated is deposited and rests.

5, 5 indicate the end walls of the pallet, connecting the side walls 4. These end walls in the form of the invent-ion disclosed extend only from the grate 6 downward to the lower edge of the pallet. The four walls of the pallet thus form, below'the grate",a foursided open-faced box, while the upper part of the pallet, that above the grate, is not.

only open-faced, but open-ended, so that when the pallets are in series, as at a, they constitute a continuous trough-like or channel-like carrier without clear lines of demarcation between the individual elements thereof.

9'indicates an air box that constitutes an element of an air moving system. It is located bet-ween and below thetracks 7 to which the upper edges of the box are secured air-tight, and is connected by an air trunk 10 with a suction fan 11, The pallets travel over the open end of the air box as they move along the tracks, and the fan serves to cause air or other gaseous fluid which may be delivered to the apparatus, to pass through the ore or other material supported by the pallets in the train or series a.

Each pallet 3 is provided with four wheels 13 supported upon axles or lugs projecting from the side walls 4; As the pallets are being moved along the tracks 7 they may be guided by the flanges of the wheels engaging with longitudinal tracks 14, though the treads of the wheels do notrest upon the said tracks, the weight of the pallets being sustained by the tracks 7 as already described. Other means for steering the pallets from that shown may be employed. The pallets are moved in series along the trackway 7 at such speed that the desired treatment of the material which they carry shall have been completed by the time they arrive at the end of the tracks at the tail or discharge end of the apparatus. Here their direction of movement is changed, they deliver their respective loads and pass to the 1 return, by which they are directed back to the head end of the apparatus to again take their places in the series a where they again come into active operation. The said return is located below the tracks 7 and consist in 'part of a stationary guideway along which the pallets move under-the influence of gravity. and lifting mechanism for elevating the pallets from the lower guideway to the trackway along which they are moved in close end to end series.

The pallets are elevated and consecutively placed in position upon the working trackway by means of a pair of large sprocket whee1s15 mounted on a shaft 16v to which power is applied from any suitable source,

as from a belt 17 that engageswith a pulley 18 on the shaft 16. The teeth 19 of the .sprocket wheels are representedas being arand operate to hold the pallets in engagement with the wheels as they are being elevated, the wheels 13 of the pallets running upon the rails 20.

At the discharge or tail end of the apparatus are arranged curved tracks 21 upon which run the wheels of the pallets as the latter pass, off the tracks 7 along which they have been sliding.

22 indicate guard rails concentric with the tracks 21 and which with the tracks 21 de- 'fine a curved way for the wheels of the lpal .lets, leading from the upper working trackway of the apparatus to the lower return trackway 23. This return trackway inclines downward toward the head end of the machine at such an angle that the pallets,now in inverted position, move along it under the influence of gravity to-its forward end,

where they are picked up'by the elevating wheels 15. It will be observed by reference to. Fig. 1 of the drawings, that the'pallets I while moving alon the return are separated and quite indepen ent one of the other. It will also be observed that the pallets are in V inverted position while upon the return feed hopper 2.

trackway 23, and in order to hold the grates ,in place while the pallets are thus inverted, I employ short bolts 24 which pass through the side walls of the pallets and engage with the grates, and hold them against the ribs 25, extending inward from the side walls of the pallets, on which the grates rest.

26 indicates an igniter of any usual character, for setting fire to the upper surface of the ore. Itis preferably located near the The operation of the apparatus, when used in the roasting and sintering of ore, as illustrated in the drawings, is as folproper design of the curves, or by lows: The pallets, being delivered one after another upon the trackway above the open end of the air box, are pushed in a continuous train or series along such track'- way by the driving mechanism, in this case the sprocket wheels 15. The individual carrying elements or pallets are successively charged with the material to be treated from the hopper or storage bin .2. When this material is a sulfid ore it is ignited atits upper surface by the igniter 26 and shortly thereafter comes under the influence 'of the currents of air induced to pass through the body of ore and enter the air box 9. The combustion in the ore mass carried by any particular pallet, resulting in the desulfurizing and sintering thereof, will be continued during the time such pallet is traveling across the open end of the air box. The speed of the driving apparatus is so regulated that the pallet under consideration will finish its travel dver the air box at approximately the time when the combustion has reached the surface of the grate 6 and the sintering operation has been completed. By this time, or shortly thereafter, the pallet will be ready to discharge .its load, and this is accomplished by causing it to change the direction of its course,

which. itdoes by reason of the wheels entering the curved way between the guide tracks or rails 21 and 22. In moving around the curve at the tail end of the machine, the pallet will be turned upside down, and this taken advantage of 'to discharge the cake of sinter which has been formed within the pallet as it moved over the air box, the discharge being assisted by the suddenness of the descent of the pallet under the influence of gravity. The speed of the descending pallet will of course be regulated by the other means that may be determined upon. For instance, frictional impeding devices 28 may be placed at the end of the tracks 21 to somewhat suddenly checkthe onward rush of the pallet as it-passes on to the return trackway 23. This impeding of the movement of the pallet will cause the discharge of the sinter, if this has not already taken place, and will also prevent the pallet from moving along the return trackway at an undesirably high speed. As the leading pallet of the train or series a changes its course and moves out of the series, as indicated at Fig. 1, the sinter is loosened from the grate, to which it may have become stuck by fusing into the open spaces of the grate. The tilting of the pallet as it leaves the train operates with a prying action upon the sintered cake and finally breaks oft the particular portion which that pallet may be carrying from the rest of the mass.

lVhile the invention has been described and illustrated as embodied in an apparatus adapted for use in the treatment of ores, it is apparent that it is not to be limited to any particular use to which it may be put since the novel features of the invention are 5 adapted to be used in a wide variety of apparatus. Thus the invention may be embodied in a moving grate for a mechanical stoker for furnaces, in continuous lime burning kilns, in coal-coking apparatus, in apparatus for the draining and drying of washed coal, and for many other purposes.

I donotclaim as of my invent-ion a conveying apparatus comprising a movable open trough-like carrier for loose mate-rial 1 formed of a series of independent disconnected elements arranged to be brought together end to 'end and means for taking the said elements one at a time from the discharge end of the said series and transporting them to the feed end thereof whether combined or not with means for treating the material that may be carried by the'said elements being aware of the fact that such subject matter is of the prior invention of Arthur S. Dwight, the claims herein presented relating to an apparatus having the specific relation of the return path for the elements between the discharge end of the trackway and the feed end thereof below the lines Whereon said elements travel when moving through the active part of said path.

Vhat I claim is 1. In a. conveying apparatus, a series of independent disconnected carrying elements arranged when brought into close engagement end to end to constitute a substantially continuous carrier adapted to convey loose material, a trackway along which the said elements travel, and a return for directing the carrying elements independently one of the other from the discharge end of the trackway to the feed end thereof, the said return being arranged below the trackway. 2. In a conveying apparatus, a series of independent disconnected carrying elements, a trackway'a-long which they travel, and a stationary inclined return for directing the carrying elements from the discharge end of the apparatus to the feed end arranged below the said trackway and along which the said element-s travel under the influence of gravity.

3. In a conveying apparatus, a series of independent disconnected carrying elements arranged when brought together end to end to form a substantially continuous carrier for loose material, a trackway along which the said elements travel, a return for directing the carrying elements independently one of the other from the discharge end of the trackway to the feed end thereof, the said return being arranged below the trackway, and lifting mechanism for taking the carrying elements from the said return to the .65 trackway.

, ii. In a conveying apparatus, a. series of independent disconnected carrying elements,

a trackway along which they ,travel, a stationary inclined return for guiding the carrying elements from the discharge end of the apparatus to the feed end arranged below the said trackway, along which the said elementstravel under the influence of grav ity, and lifting mechanism for taking the carrying elements from the said inclined return to the trackway.

5. In a conveying apparatus, a series of independent disconnected carrying elements adapted when arranged in train to constitute a carrier for loose material, a trackway along which the said elements travel in train, return means for directing the elements individually from the feedto the head end of the apparatus, and means forlift-ing the said carrying elements individually from the return to the trackway and, for also advancing the train of elements along the trackway.

6. In a conveying apparatus, a series of independent disconnected carrying elements, at trackway along which said elements may move, a return for directing the elements from the discharge to the feed end of the apparatus, and lifting mechanism for elevating the carrying elements from the re- 95 turn to the trackway, comprising a Wheel I located at the feed end of the said trackway and arranged to engage with and elevate and deliver the individual carrying elements to the trackway and to push them in train along the same. i

7. In a conveying apparatus, a series of independent disconnected carrying elements, a trackway along which the said elements travel in upright position and end to end, a '105 return below the trackway along which the elements travel independently of each other in inverted position, and means for lifting the elements from the return to the trackway.

8. In a conveying'apparatus, a series of independent disconnected elements arranged when brought together end to end to constitute a substantially continuous conveyer adapted to carry loose material, a trackway along which the said elements travel in train, a downward extending curved guideway along which the carrying elements rapidly pass under the influence of gravity as they leave the train, a return below the trackway leading from the said curved guideway toward the forward end of the apparatus, and means for lifting the said elements from the return to thetrackway. i 4

9. In a conveying apparatus, a series of mdependent disconnected carrying elements, a trackway along which they travel in train,- a downward inclined guide along which the pallets individually pass after leaving the 130 Correction iii-Letters Patent'No. 1,027,084

train, and impeding devices for checking the speed of the said individual'carrying elements, acquired while passing said inclined guideway.

10. In a conveying apparatus, the combination with a series of independent disconnected curry-ingelements arranged when broughttogethen end to end to form a substantially continuous carrier adapted to convey loose material, of means for advancing them in a series in close relation one to the other through the upper portion of their course of travel, a lower return along which the carrying elements individually travel under the act-ion of gravity, and power devices for lifting the carrying elements individually from the return and delivering them to that portion of their course along which they travel in series.

11. In a conveying apparatus for handling ore, a series of independent disconnectv [SEAL] lifting the carrying elements from the-return to the trackway. In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY. JQHN STEHLI.

Witnesses:

C. A. CALDWELL, E. M. QALDWELL.

- upon the application ot Henry John Stehli, of MontclainNew Jersey, for an improvement in Apparatus for Use in Treating Ores, an error appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: In the heading, name of assignee, for Dwight Lloyd Metallurgical Company read Dwight and Lloyd illetalborgical Company; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to therecordofthe case in the Patent Office.

Signedand sealed this 4th day of June, A. D., 1912.

o. o. BILLINGS,

Acting Commissioner of Patents.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,027,084, granted May El, 1912,

Correction iii-Letters Patent'No. 1,027,084

train, and impeding devices for checking the speed of the said individual'carrying elements, acquired while passing said inclined guideway.

10. In a conveying apparatus, the combination with a series of independent disconnected curry-ingelements arranged when broughttogethen end to end to form a substantially continuous carrier adapted to convey loose material, of means for advancing them in a series in close relation one to the other through the upper portion of their course of travel, a lower return along which the carrying elements individually travel under the act-ion of gravity, and power devices for lifting the carrying elements individually from the return and delivering them to that portion of their course along which they travel in series.

11. In a conveying apparatus for handling ore, a series of independent disconnectv [SEAL] lifting the carrying elements from the-return to the trackway. In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY. JQHN STEHLI.

Witnesses:

C. A. CALDWELL, E. M. QALDWELL.

- upon the application ot Henry John Stehli, of MontclainNew Jersey, for an improvement in Apparatus for Use in Treating Ores, an error appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: In the heading, name of assignee, for Dwight Lloyd Metallurgical Company read Dwight and Lloyd illetalborgical Company; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to therecordofthe case in the Patent Office.

Signedand sealed this 4th day of June, A. D., 1912.

o. o. BILLINGS,

Acting Commissioner of Patents.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,027,084, granted May El, 1912,

Correction lnLetters Patent 'No. 1,027,084.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,027,084, granted May 1912,

: upon the application of Henry John Stehli, of MontclainNew Jersey, for an improvement in Apparatus for Use in Treating Ores, an error appears in the printed specification'requiring correction tis follows: In the heading, name of assignee, for

Dwight Lloyd Metallurgical Company read Dwight and Lloyd lletaltuigz'cal Signedand sealed this 4th day of June, A. D., 1912.

[SEAL] Oompany; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the sal ne m ay conforrn to the recortlof the case in the Patent Oflice.

0. c. BILL'INGS,

Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

